


Anchor Up to Me

by itsallonfire



Series: Your Love is Sunlight (Winter ATLA Femslash Week 2021) [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: ATLA Winter Femslash Week 2021, Anxiety, F/F, Fluff, Hair Braiding, and lin gets fidgety after work, but hey! braiding kya's hair is a win-win for everyone, kya works night shifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29180514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallonfire/pseuds/itsallonfire
Summary: After work, Lin needs to work out her anxious hands. Kya’s messy hair provides the perfect solution.Prompt: Hair Braiding
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Series: Your Love is Sunlight (Winter ATLA Femslash Week 2021) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138073
Comments: 7
Kudos: 92





	Anchor Up to Me

**Author's Note:**

> A short little piece of pure fluff again. I hope y'all enjoy :)  
> (Title from the song "Anchor" by Novo Amor.)

Of all of the side effects that came with working in a high-stress environment, Lin’s least favorite, by far, had to be the constant jittery nervousness. Busting a triad operation or tracking down a serial arsonist always resulted in the same anxiety. As stoic and poised as Lin promoted herself to be at the office -- striding down halls with her head high and mouth curved in the way that suggested unamused determination -- her outward state became quite a different story once she arrived back home.

The keys fell to the table, her coat draped over a kitchen chair, work boots flung to the side so she could feel something other than horribly detailed metal beneath her feet. Convenience came with being able to feel one’s surroundings at all times, but so did a myriad of paranoias. 

While Lin was anxiously fidgeting with a handful of stones that she usually kept on the windowsill, her head jerked up at the sound of Kya opening their bedroom door.

Wrapped up in a satin bathrobe, Kya leaned against the doorway and smiled sleepily at her partner. “Good afternoon,” she said with a tired joke in her voice.

“Yeah,” said Lin thoughtfully. “You look like you got some sleep.”

Kya raised her eyebrows and chuckled to herself. “A bit. Those night shifts really do it to me these days. You look like you could use some rest, too, though.”

Lin shook her head, eyes staring thoughtlessly at the floor.

“Is everything okay?” Kya passed Lin on the way to the sink in the kitchen and paused to touch her arm.

“Yeah. I think so.”

Kya looked her over while sipping on a glass of water. “You’re all fidgety. What are you anxious about?”

Tossing the rocks in her hand back to the windowsill, Lin sighed and said, “I don’t know. Work wasn’t bad, I think just -- I have a lot of things to think about.”

“Hmm.” Kya hummed. She reached up to undo the bun atop her head, something necessary to keep herself from choking on hair mid-sleep. Every time she considered cutting it, though, Lin would treat her to another pretty hairstyle that felt like a masterpiece and the thought would leave for a while. 

Then, a lightbulb blinked above Kya’s head and she set down her glass. “Hey, do you want to help me with this?” she asked Lin, gesturing at the wavy mess of hair strewn around her shoulders.

A small but sudden grin replaced Lin’s look of exhaustion. “That would be nice.”

Lin fetched the hairbrush and a fresh elastic band before settling on the couch with Kya sitting between her knees, legs crossed atop a red pillow on the floor. As Lin worked through Kya’s hair bit by bit, some of that buzzing in her head began to dissolve into the air. Perhaps it was the ability to move her fingers and focus on one thing, or perhaps it was the way that Kya leaned back against her and sighed happily when Lin touched that spot behind her ear. 

“Can you do a braid?” asked Kya, leaning her head back to look up at Lin with a particularly sparkly pair of polar-bear puppy dog eyes. “It feels so good when you do braids.”

Lin leaned forward to kiss Kya’s forehead before answering, “Absolutely, love.”

Kya shut her eyes and smiled slightly while Lin sectioned out her hair and took to gently wrapping it around itself, slow and smooth and taking the time to let Kya feel the gentle tug. The action provided relief to Lin’s jittery hands and she looped her fingers around locks of Kya’s hair two and three and four times just to repeat the motion. Moment by moment, the physical anxiety was gone. In its place was Kya’s beautifully plaited hair, pretty light grey with strands of silver woven in-between. 

Kya, almost asleep again, hummed happily when Lin kissed her temple and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. 

“Thank you,” she said quietly, bringing her own hand up to touch Lin’s cheek. “It’s so lovely when you do that.”

“I like doing your hair.” Lin dug her fingertips gently into Kya’s scalp. “It helps me feel better, too.”

Kya grinned up at her with sleepiness weighing down her eyelids. 

“Come on,” said Lin. She gently pulled Kya up. “I think it’s naptime again for both of us.”

“Mm-hmm.” Kya nodded and let Lin guide her to the bedroom. 

It didn’t seem that any previous anxiety or distraction tried to follow them. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank y'all for reading! Leave some kudos or a comment if you have thoughts to share :)


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